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Your new movie Shadows
in Mind - in a few words, what's it about?
Shadows
in Mind is about a desperate young
man who calls an LGBTQ suicide hotline to tell his story before he kills
himself and three other people. As we flashback to unravel his story,
the hotline operator attempts to ferret out his location so he can be
stopped. What
were your sources of inspiriation when writing Shadows
in Mind, and is any of it based on personal experiences?
I was inspired after viewing Sydney
Pollock’s first feature film The Slender Thread, which has a
similar premise, and thought it was ripe for a major update. None of it
is really based on personal experience - thank goodness - but there are
a few sequences during the flashbacks that reflect the personalities
of people I have met in my life. With
Shadows in Mind
taking place on two narrative levels - that of the call center and Danny's
story - that never physically meet, how easy of hard was it to find and
maintain links between the two levels and create some sort of chemistry?
Thankfully it wasn’t that difficult
because I had a great cast and crew. Everyone was on board with the
story and excited to be a part of it. We were all on the same page from
the beginning about the challenging subject matter. What
can you tell us about Shadows
in Mind's approach to the thriller genre?
It’s in the LGBTQ genre without any
judgements, political perspectives or emphasis on the characters’
thoughts about their sexuality. It’s a timely “what if” in
today’s world of online apps, the dark web and how those can be used
to very dangerous effect.
A few words about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
I always wanted Shadows
in Mind to be about
mood, atmosphere and impending dread. My director of photography
Dante Yore understood this perfectly and beautifully created that
through a noir lens. I never wanted jump scares or explicit violence. I
wanted the tension and fear to come directly from the characters and their
motivations so the audience just had to keep watching to see how it would
all come out in the end. Do
talk about Shadows in
Mind's cast, and why exactly these people?
This was a very brave cast. Shadows
in Mind had to be cast quickly as we were rushing towards a deadline to present
at the American Film Market, and I really lucked out. The key answer to
“why these people” is because they inherently understood the script
and I could relate to each of them on a personal level. I felt comfortable
and confident they could deliver on a fast shooting schedule as well as
get along well with each other. What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Oh there is PLENTY to tell about that. But
mainly that it was incredibly efficient and a marvelously stimulating
collaborative effort from everyone involved. The challenges were huge and
we met them together head on and knocked it out of the park. I’m very
proud of what we accomplished under such tough parameters. The
$64-question of course, where can Shadows
in Mind be seen?
Right now Shadows
in Mind can be seen on
AppleTV, GooglePlay, Fandango at Home and YouTube. It should be
available on Amazon as well any day now. Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Shadows
in Mind?
Critics have been generally very positive.
Audience reaction seems to range from “Amazing. Never seen a movie
like that” to ashen-faced/horrified at what they’ve just seen.
Thankfully no one has told me (at least to my face) that it was boring.
The subject matter is intense and potentially divisive so I have no
illusions. It’s a tough, dark film but one that I’m immensely proud
of. From what I know, Shadows
in Mind has previously been released as Crisis Hotline
before you completely reworked it for the current release - so what can
you tell us about that previous release and the main differences between
the old and the new cut?
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There are many differences between the two.
Our previous distributor changed the title to Crisis Hotline - which I
never liked - and tried to market it as some kind of cheap slasher film
which we felt was absolutely wrong. So we got the film rights back from
them and set to work to create Shadows
in Mind the way it was always
intended to be. This meant an entirely new beginning to the film, a
whole new color grade, a brand new sound score/sound design and
re-editing the film from 93 minutes to 89 minutes with new footage and
tightened scenes. Our new distributor, Breaking Glass Pictures, totally
understands what Shadows
in Mind is and I know this because when they
cut a new trailer for its release I was so impressed how well it
captured the vibe just perfectly. This is the version people
should see as it is exactly how I envisioned it plus it looks and sounds
spectacular. Any future projects you'd like to share?
Yes! I’m very excited about Diamond in
the Rough Films’ newest feature that we shot last May called Cutaways.
It’s a very different film for me in that it’s a dark comedy about a
former Sundance award-winning filmmaker who’s been “cancelled” by
social media and is now forced to direct an online porn film for a
sleazy producer. It has some of my amazing cast members from my previous
film Exteriors plus Jason Caceres and James Duval! I was so lucky
to get to work with James as I’ve been a huge fan of his for years,
ever since he started working with Gregg Araki. There’s info on it at
our website along with a trailer for the curious. Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else?
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Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
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We’ve just updated our website at
www.ditrfilms.com and it has all the links to our films and where to find them and watch them.
We are also on Instagram and Twitter at @DITRFilms. Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask?
Yes! I’ve recently started writing a
series of weekly articles for Medium all about my experience making
and distributing Shadows
in Mind and independent filmmaking in general.
I’ve published the first two already with the third coming in a few
days. Links to the first two can be found under the Shadows In Mind page
on our website. You might be able to find them on the Medium.com website
under my name as well. Thanks for the
interview!
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